HC Deb 30 January 2003 vol 398 cc961-2W
Dr. Tonge

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Governments of(a) the Czech Republic, (b) Hungary, (c) Romania and (d) Slovakia, on the living standards of their Roma citizens. [93467]

Mr. MacShane

[holding answer 28 January 2003]My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met the Foreign Ministers of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania in 2002. He raised the question of Roma minorities with all three. He also plans to meet the Slovak Foreign Minister in February 2003. The UK's programmes of pre-accession support for candidate countries puts a high priority on improving the quality of life of Roma minorities.

All four states have been found to meet the Copenhagen criteria, which require a state to uphold the basic human rights of all its citizens.

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